Knitting Lace

This is all I have been doing. I have been trying to catch up and this Sunday, I started on Clue 4. I have made it through Chart E and now am waiting for Mrs. R to post the written instructions for Chart F. We have until next Friday until the next Clue is posted.

I am attaching a picture below. You can see that I still have my lifelines in just in case

I have finally gotten into the rhythm of knitting this stole without making too many mistakes. The lifelines and stitch markers are definately helping.

I did start on a sock at knitting class, but I am mostly knitting that in class since I don't want to knit on the stole there. I need quiet and concentration to knit this lace stole.

I Am Addicted

I am hooked on the Mystery Stole 3 KAL. I started last Monday and had a bad start. I must have frogged 6 times or more. It just wasn't flowing right. So, I tried again last Tuesday and I had success.....until I ran into problems later on. After so much frogging, I began to put in lifelines every 10 rows. That did help, but I still had problems. I had hoped to finish Clue 1 before the end of the week, but that was not going to happen. Finally this Sunday, I completed Clue 1 and was at the point where the stitches were not increasing anymore. I then added stitch markers after every 11 stitches and that made a big difference. I became brave enough to wait until I had 12 rows before adding a lifeline. I have been doing well, but if I made a mistake, I caught it before finishing out a row. I have 20 more rows on Clue 2 and will probably start Clue 3 on Wednesday (knock on wood). I would really like to be caught up by the end of the week so I have a lot of time to work on Clue 4. I am really happy with how it's turning out and I love, love, love the Zephyr yarn and the Knitpicks needles. Here is a picture showing the stitch markers and the lifelines (note: I am not removing any lifelines yet....just in case).

This has become so addicting though. I stop and take a break and I swear that the stole is calling me to keep working on it.

I am still working on my beach tote. I have been knitting on that when I am at knitting class. When I went to class on Friday, we were remarking on the softness of a sock that was in the classroom. It was an anklet sock. Well, the yarn was Cascade Fixation, which was on sale at Kraemers (of course I had to buy some). So, when I go to class this Friday, we are going to work on the sock as a group project, where all of us will knit a pair of socks (anklets). So, I am really looking forward to starting this project. That is another reason why I want to catch up on the Mystery Stole 3 pattern.

I did finish a dishcloth from my Monthly Dishcloth Group. It was a real quick project and I love the pattern.

Tomorrow, I go to the Eye Doctor to pick up my new glasses. I had this brainstorm to see if I could get magnifying lenses to use when I work on any fine knitting projects like the Mystery Stole 3 KAL. Let's see what they say and how much it will cost me.

Maggie May is doing well after her operation. The stitches are out and she healed really well. Tomorrow, she goes to get groomed. I will take a picture of her to post later.

07-07-07 what a great day it was!

I can't believe what a great day I had on Saturday! I have been working on the beach tote from Knitter's and finished up the front side on Friday. I was going to start on the back and decided to start it with a new skein of yarn. I go get the yarn and it's the wrong dye lot! I could not believe that I didn't check it before buying it. Kraemer's has the yarn on sale for $3.00 a skein and everyone has been buying it up to work on this tote bag. So, I figured I would try my luck and see if they had any red left. If not, I figured it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world since it was the other side and this would be my scrap beach bag if it looked too bad. So, Saturday I go to my knitting class and first thing I check is the Fantasy Naturalle yarn. One red skein is left and it's the right dye lot! Now what are the chances of that?

Then I get home and have an invite to Ravelry! I have been waiting for quite awhile to have access to the site. My online ID is KarinK. I have a lot of work to do to get organized on it, but it is a great site to keep track of your needles, books and projects (past, current, and future). The beauty of it is that my blog posts will link there too as well as my flickr account. Now I have to get to work. It's nice that everything can be in one place.

The last great thing that happened was that I joined the Mystery Stole 3 KAL about a half an hour before it was closed for sign ups. I thought that I had missed the date until I saw the Yarn Harlot's post and realized that I still had time to join. I have struggled with what yarn to use and finally decided on Zephyr in black. I have a cone of this and since the KAL has posted 2 weeks of knitting instructions or clues and I didn't want to have to wait any longer to start, I did the cast on today and will not be using beads. I'm a little nervous working with beads for now, but figure if all turns out well with this stole, I may do a second one with beads. I hope to get close to catching up by Friday when the next set of clues get posted.

I am doing the happy dance!

I also christened my new squirrel cage yarn swift and I love it! It is so easy to use and I love that my yarn winder sits on top of the swift. Everything is in one place and I don't have to drag the swift and yarn winder out to set it up to use it. I do want to get a cover to avoid getting it dusty. I see that Bed, Bath and Beyond sells body pillowcases and I think that this will do the trick!

I got my order from Lettuce Knit last week. Here are the Dream in Color baby sweater kits:

One is called Rocketry and the other is called Tulips.

And, here is the Handmaiden Sea Silk I got with the One Skein Shawl (Lacy Wings) pattern:

From Barnes and Noble, I got my order for the two new lace books: Lacy Little Knits and Wrapped in Comfort. Both are wonderful books with really nice patterns.

On the reading front, I have finished the following books: Manner of Death and Cold Case by Stephen White, Drop Dead Beautiful by Jackie Collins (I love her books) and Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovitch. I really like this series of books by Janet. I am currently reading Second Chance by Jane Green. I have read all of her books and really enjoyed them as well.

Influence of a Knitter's Blog

Gee, it's almost the 4th of July and we are having some strange weather here. Many hazy, humid days with severe thunderstorms and now the next several days will not be real hot. The highs are predicted to be in the 70's.

I have been taping Army Wives on TIVO to watch when I had time. Well, yesterday was the Army Wives marathon. I am really enjoying this series and it sure has a lot of nail biting in it. I am all caught up now. Tonight is the last night for Starter Wives. I am looking forward to seeing this tonight as well. I wonder if they will make this a regular series?

I got my DIY Exchange 2 from the Love2Knit dishcloth group. My partner was Wendy from Shanksville, PA. She lives 2 miles from where Flight 93 crashed. She sent me a really nice dishcloth, a postcard from the Flight 93 crash site and a stitch marker. She was a great partner.

I also wanted to post the Socks that Rock Sock Club yarn that I received this week. What a great color.

Here is the squirrel cage yarn swift that I ordered. I really like this one since I can put my skein winder on the top of it. It is a great space saver and I don't have to worry about clamping both a skein winder and swift somewhere. I also got an additional crank cage to allow me to rewind balls into skeins. I have yarn to wind and unwind, so I am looking forward to testing it out.

I really want to try making Elizabeth Zimmerman's baby surprise jacket, but I have been struggling with what kind of colors to use. I recently visited Brooklyn Tweed's blog and saw this. I am in love. The homespun yarn is perfect for this sweater. Now I just have to save up to buy some. I also love her Noro scarf shown here. My husband wants me to knit him a scarf for Christmas. This is the perfect scarf for him! I don't know how anyone can keep knitting from their stash and not buy any new yarn. Thank God I didn't commit to that idea! Other knitter's blogs are sure dangerous to stash busters!

Easy Knitting

I finally finished the Mid-month KAL for my monthly dishcloth group. I really enjoyed this pattern. It came out really nice using the Sugar and Cream twist yarn in lavender.

The KAL's are fun and it's really interesting to see the pattern develop as you go along.

I mentioned before that I was knitting a beach tote from the current issue of Knitters magazine. Here is the picture from the magazine and here is a picture of my knitting:

I love the colors and am looking forward to finishing this project. I will be making more if it turns out well.

Since I started crocheting, I found the lighted crochet hooks at my local yarn shop. I don't like the lighted knitting needles. They are too long and the size I would buy to try isn't available. I would buy size 7's since I use that size the most for dishcloths. I did buy three lighted crochet hooks. I got G, H, and I.

I will be curious to try them out.

I was able to pick Maggie up from the vet today. It was kind of nice not having her around yesterday, but I did miss her terribly. She is fine, but I have to keep her from jumping around and pulling her stitches out. I can't wait until she goes back to the vet to get them out because this sure is a treat trying to keep her calm. She already jumped up on a chair with no problem, but when she jumped down, she yelped. I'm sure that her stitches pulled. So now I have to keep her off of chairs. That is hard to do since she is so fast. She is also licking her stitches. I'm sure they itch. She is not happy with me when I tell her NO. I can just see how she would adapt to wearing a collar if she starts to try and pull them out.

What a way to Relax!

I have been reading quite a bit lately. I just am loving the books by Stephen White. I have read Higher Authority (This was an interesting book especially since I learned about the Mormon religion. It made me want to know more about it and I have ordered a book from Barnes and Noble), Harms Way, Remote Control and Critical Condition. I also enjoyed Third Degree by James Patterson and Starter Wife by Gigi Levangie Grazier. It was interesting reading Starter Wife since I am also watching the series on TV. The book IS different than the TV series.

I finally decided on the Alternate Squirrel Cage swift from Kirklands. Thanks to a suggestion from another knitter, I also got an additional cage with a crank so I can rewind balls into skeins. I was surprised to find out that they are shipping my swift and I should hopefully have it this week.

I am also expecting my order from Lettuce Knit this week. So, this week is like Christmas for me! I can't wait until I get my shipments.

I have been trying to catch up to listening to podcasts. I have been going back to the first postings of my favorite podcasts. I am currently catching up on Webs podcast Ready, Set, Knit. I have never ordered from them, but after listening to these podcasts I am getting real tempted to order some of their yarn.

I am still working away on my crocheted afghan and also started knitting a beach tote that is in the current issue of Knitters. It is an easy pattern and is knitting up fast. The yarn I am using is Plymouth's Fantasy Naturale. Kraemer's yarn shop has this yarn on sale for $3.00 per skein, which is a great price. I bought quite a bit of it. I will try and post pictures of this later this week.

Tomorrow, my puppy Maggie is going to the vet to get spayed. I know everything will be okay, but I am always a little nervous when my dogs have to be operated on. I will be breathing a sigh of relief when I get the call from the vet telling me all is well. What I hate most is that she will have to stay overnight and I will not be able to get her until Tuesday afternoon. I will be so happy to bring her home. Keep her in your prayers.

All of her baby teeth are finally gone. I almost thought that the vet would have to pull some teeth when he operated on her, but the last couple came out this week. I do notice a change in her behavior now that all of her baby teeth are out. She is a little more calmer. It will be interesting to see what happens after her operation.

I have been enjoying the weather we have been having. It has been beautiful out and not real hot; although, I do think it's suppose to warm up this week. It's just so calming sitting out on my screened in porch reading and knitting. I am really noticing that I am not as stressed as I used to be.

Dishcloths and Yarn

So much to tell about today and I have pictures. Let's start with Dishcloths:

Here is the Diagonal Dishcloth I was knitting and finally finished:

I enjoyed knitting this cloth, but it really gets a little crooked. I had to stretch it around to get it to look right. I love the beach ball blue color from Sugar and Cream.

This is a ripple dishcloth that I made from a pattern from my DishclothsRUs yahoo knitting group.

This one was very enjoyable to knit and I loved the pattern.

Here is a dishcloth from my Monthly Dishcloth Yahoo group. It was the June KAL for the beginning of the month.

It's a Unicorn and I really like it. The sizing is different on this one.

My favorite dishcloth in this bunch is the from my DIY exchange in Love2Knit Dishcloths Yahoo Group. This was a different exchange. You sent a ball of yarn and needles to your partner. When you got your needles and yarn, you picked a pattern to knit from the yarn. My partner Judy, sent me a skein of Honeysuckle Yarns in the color shrimp. Apparently, Peaches and Cream makes this yarn. After using 3 skeins of Sugar and Cream yarn and then switching to the Honeysuckle yarn made by Peaches and Cream, I now know why everyone loves Peaches and Cream. It is much softer and does not split. I chose the pattern Turq by Harvest Moon Designs. I adjusted it a bit. According to the directions there would have been too much space between the crossover pattern. So I eliminated some rows and I love how it turned out.

My partner also sent me Size 7 needles from Boye and a squiggly needle wrap. I really like both the yarn and squiggly.

Since, I'm talking about dishcloths, I may as well tell you that I was arm twisted into ordering the Sugar and Cream Twists yarn and the Robin Egg Blue yarn. No one had to twist my arm too hard. ;-) I wasn't sure about the Twist yarn, but I finally saw a dishcloth made out of one of the colors and that did it for me. I got just about one in each color:

I also purchased Lornas Laces Lion and Lamb yarn to make a clapotis scarf. I have been dying to make one of these but just couldn't find a color that caught my eye. I finally saw the Dessert Flower color, but it was discontinued. I did find it on ebay from Yarn Bazaar. It was a great place to order from. I have to finish off some current projects before starting on this one.

Much to my surprise, I finally was able to purchase the watermelon color yarn from Freshisle Fibers. I have probably been on a waiting list for this yarn for about a year. I got six skeins and I'm in heaven! This picture of socks got me hooked on this yarn.

I have been crocheting away on my soft wave ripple afghan. I really like how it's coming out and definately love the colors!

I was determined to keep on with this after being told that it's hard to crochet a ripple afghan.

I have been researching swifts and will probably be buying one from Kirtland's Yarn Barn. The problem I am having is deciding on which one to get. Anyone have any suggestions? I think I am leaning toward the alternate one. Hopefully, I will do a post with some of the swifts I have found. There are more out there than you would ever think about.

And, what would my blog be if I didn't post a new picture of Maggie May. She is getting bigger. All of her adult teeth are in except her fangs. I think she may have to have some of those pulled since the new ones are coming in, but the baby teeth aren't getting loose. She gets spayed at the end of June, so I imagine that the vet will do it then if they haven't come out by then.

I'm in Heaven

Who said that staying at home was boring? I'm not bored at all. In fact the days are flying by. I can't believe that I haven't been employed now for 22 days. I knew that this would be a good thing. I'm in Heaven! My husband loves it because I am cooking more. Maybe I can finally lose some weight. That is next on my list of things to do.

The problem with being at home is finding more knitting projects that I want to do. I found this baby sweater on the Yarn Harlots blog and I just love it! You can find it under her post dated May 25th called Hometown Jitter. The yarn is called Dream in Color. I called Lettuce Knit for 2 kits and also ordered at kit for the Rocketry Baby Cardigan in the same yarn. I have also been wanting the one skein shawl in Handmaiden Sea Silk, so I also ordered that along with two different colored skeins of yarn. Can't wait until I get my order. I really wish I lived in Toronto. They have such neat yarn shops there. That is one place on my wish list of places to visit. Expensive yarn crawl isn't it?

I have finished the zigzag dishcloth and have moved on to a ripple dishcloth (I will post pictures next time). I have finally gotten the hang of the soft wave ripple afghan that I am crocheting. I must have frogged that thing 5-8 times to try and get it right. Unfortunately the problem was me and not following directions. I am ready to change colors. I was getting nervous that I would not have enough yarn, so I went out and got more skeins before the dye lots ran out.

Last Friday, I found out that the knitting shop I go to for knitting lessons will be closing in 90 days for renovations. They sold the building that they are in and will lease it. They are going to renovate it and reopen as a yarn shop, but we are all concerned that they will only be selling Kraemer yarns. The yarn shop is at Kraemer yarns. Hopefully, I will find out more when I get there tomorrow. They are also telling us that the shop will only be closed for about 3 weeks. They are going to add more classrooms and they will be nicer than they are now. That is a plus.

I also found out that they make the yarn for Moorehouse Farms and Cherry Tree Hill. They do sell Cherry Tree Hill right now, but not Moorehouse Farms. They are apparently not allowed to sell it there.

I have read the following books since I last blogged:

Morning Comes Softly by Debbie Macomber: She never disappoints me with her books.

First to Die and Second Chance by James Patterson: Great Womens Murder Club books. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

First Impressions by Jude Deveraux: I couldn't put this book down it was that good. I really love Jude Deveraux. I think my favorite book of hers is Knight in Shining Armor. This book is a must read.

Priviledged Information by Stephen White: He also has a series of books and this is the first one in the series. I'm ready to read the next book on the list.

Maggie May got groomed this week and she looks really good. She is losing her teeth like mad now and I have an appointment at the end of June for her to get spayed. She is getting better and calming down. I'm sure once all of her teeth are in and she is spayed she will be even better. She is a great companion and a very loving puppy. I really miss Sadie and wish she were with us too. I am so glad to be home with my puppy.

Can you believe that I have poison ivy (I think). I have no idea where I got it. At first I didn't know what it was. Now I am treating it. I was ready to go to my doctor today, but found out that he isn't in until June 7th. I am going with the treatment that my husband found at a pharmacy and if it gets worse, I will go to emergency to be help. It's mostly on my torso, but I has been spreading. Hopefully, I have it under control and it will start to go away. Any suggestions out there?

On a real upbeat note, I found this on another blog and wanted to spread the word. It's a great story and a great legacy. Check out the information on Hug Nation. Grandpa we love you and give you a big hug.

A Summer of Knitting and Reading - What Fun!

I'm unemployed! Due to downsizing at my company, I no longer have a job. However, I am getting a nice severance package and will be able to collect unemployment. What timing! I can enjoy the summer to read and knit. Since I commuted an hour to work, this came at a great time because of the price of gas. I am loving it!

The great thing about being home right now is spending time with my puppy Maggie. She is a terror and needs to have me home to give her the attention she needs. She is 5 months old today. Happy Birthday Maggie May:

She needs a hair cut and bath badly, but next week she gets to visit the groomer.

I have been knitting more. Right now I have been knitting dishcloths. Here is the May Mid-month dishcloth:

I really like how this pattern turned out. I used Sugar and Cream Violet Veil Ombre.

I also completed the Dafodil dishcloth from my monthly dishcloth group:

I loved working with the yellow Sugar and Cream yarn.

Here is the mid-month Dishcloth from April:

I had trouble with both the April and May mid-month dishcloths. You would think I would learn. The yarn overs kill me! Inevitably I forget to do a yarn over and as a result don't have enough stitches. Then I have to frog back and reknit. The trick is finding what row I frogged back to. Luckily I can read the stitches and have no trouble determining where I'm at. The May Mid-Month Dishcloth was the worst. I must have frogged that cloth 5-6 times.

Knitting and Reading

I can't believe it's been over a month since I have posted. Where has the time gone? I know, Maggie is taking a lot of my time. She needs a lot of love and attention. Soon she will be getting a lot of it since I am losing my job and will be home with her full time. I am counting the days to relaxing, knitting, reading and doing whatever!

I haven't gotten much knitting done, but I have finished these two dishcloths:

One is the Mid-Month KAL for my monthly dishcloth group (this is from February):

This is another from March:

Here is another in progress from April (I know, I know, I'm a little behind):

Not being able to knit hasn't stopped me from buying yarn. I got my Socks that Rock club yarn:

Then I got a skien of laceweight yarn in Cherry Blossom from Sundara. I just love this yarn.

I couldn't pass up trying to make a crocheted afghan once I saw the blogging group on the web for the book 200 Ripple Stitches:

Here is the book:

I am making the soft waves pattern in the colors below:

The yarn is from Patons called Canadiana.

While I haven't been knitting too much, I have been reading. I finished the book The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs and A Killer Stitch by Maggie Sefton. Both are great reads and I couldn't put them down.

I am currently reading Hey Good Looking by Fern Michaels. Once finished with that, I will read Back to Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber.

I should be posting more soon once I am done working. May 15th is my last day, so I only have one more full week of work. Then it's sleep in time and enjoy the summer! What timing!

Not Destashing

Still not getting much knitting done. Puppies are a handful, especially this one! Here is a picture of the dishcloth I am knitting. Its a pattern from the Yahoo Monthly Dishcloth KAL group.

I am also knitting a scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. It's called the Chevron Scarf and you use two different color yarns. I am using Socks that Rock Farmhouse and Watermelon Tourmaline. This is the first time I am knitting with two different colors at the same time.

What I am really excited about was being able to purchase yarn from the Yarn Pirate. I had signed up for her mailing list for any notifications. She was stocking her Etsy shop this past Saturday. The yarn went fast and I didn't think I was going to get any, but much to my surprise I was able to buy the following skeins below:

1 skein of Paris:

2 skeins of Dogwood:

3 skeins of Cannon Beach:

I had to be really quick on getting them into my cart and making sure they were all mine. Now, I can't wait until they get here so I can figure out what I will make with them. I am still dreaming of getting the following two colors:

Crocus:

Somona:

I'll either have to be quick to get them or see if I can special order them. Glad I'm not destashing. I am a Yarn slut!

Frogging Away - Rip it, Rip it, Rip it

Well, Maggie May is a ball of fire. She sure keeps me hopping! She's not quite three months old and already she has attempted going down steps. We had three other dogs and I had to teach them how to go down steps! I don't think she fears anything, although the other day she got her head stuck between the back of the desk and the wall and started screaming. I did get her out and the good news is that she doesn't go under the desk and chew on any wires that are there anymore. Hmmm, now if I could just get her to stop chewing my bedroom slippers.

I have been knitting more. I am currently working on the February mid-month dishcloth KAL (I know, I'm a little behind) from my monthly dishcloth group. I really like the pattern, but I keep messing up one row and having to frog it. I come up one stitch short and I know it's the yarn over's. You would think that I would get it by now.

I got my Socks that Rock yarn and started the chevron scarf. This is the first time I am knitting something where you change yarn colors. I also got the first installment of the Socks that Rock Club for this year. Really nice notebook and yarn came this time. I will post pictures next time I write.

I am also working on the Candle Flame Shawl from knitpicks. I had to frog that all the way back because I messed up and didn't know where. At least it was towards the begginning and not further along. There seems to be a pattern here with having to frog so much.

Maggie May

We have a new addition to the family. Her name is Maggie and she is a handful! I like calling her Maggie May. She is a very loving puppy and loves to be held, but she is a puppy and has lots of energy. We have her about a week now and she keeps me hopping. She's a cutie though. I usually like a black dog only, but I love the white that she has on her. I'm just hoping she remains a healthy pet for a long time.

I haven't had much time for knitting since we got her, but I did finally finish some projects:

There are the fetching gloves:

I also completed a dishcloth from the Monthly dishcloth group. It was the pattern from the beginning of February.

And I finished off the snuggly baby blanket I was making:

I have a few things on the needles, but I am waiting for some yarn I ordered from Blue Mountain Fibers (Socks that Rock). I plan on knitting the Chevron scarf that is making it's way around the blogging world from the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

I also joined a bookmark knit-a-long group that is on yahoo. Since I love to read and knit, I thought it was a perfect fit. I recently finished the new Barbara Delinsky book, Family Tree. I really enjoyed the book, but then again, I love all of Barbara's books.

Speaking of books, there are a lot of new knitting books coming out. I am anxiously awaiting their arrival as I am sure I won't resist the urge to get them.

Well, I'm back to blogging. Now I just have to get back to knitting.

To Catch a COLD

Haven't blogged lately since I had got a bad cold. I caught it from my darling husband. I am finally feeling like my self again. It hasn't helped either that the weather has turned bitter cold here. Hopefully, it will warm up next week. By warm I mean in the 30's.

On the knitting front, I am finishing up a dishcloth and working on a baby afghan. I need to get back into the knitting mode since I have several projects close to being completed. I haven't even been to knitting class for three weeks! I am getting the shakes. Hopefully, I will be going this week.

Finished reading the series of knitting novels by Maggie Sefton. They are Knit One, Kill Two; Needled to Death; and A Deadly Yarn. I really enjoyed all of them and wish there were more. I have a couple of other knitting novels by other authors that I can read. I also heard that Debbie Macomber is coming out with a new book in April called Back on Blossom Street. I can't wait. I just love her books.

I recently purchased the book Cables Untangled by Melissa Leapman. There are really nice illustrations on cabling and different types of cable patterns. I might try the reversable scarf as my first project. What a great project for a cold day!

Knitting for my Sanity

Well, even with all that has been going on in my life, I am still knitting. I finished the monthly KAL for one dishcloth knitting group.

I completed another dishcloth from Harvest Moon Designs for a Dishcloth swap in another knitting group.

I really enjoyed knitting this dishcloth. It was challenging because I kept making mistakes, but it really is a pretty cloth for Valentines Day.

I also, am finishing up my scarf using the mistake rib pattern.

So, I have been keeping busy. It has kept me sane and calm. Which is a good thing.

A Tribute

Sadie

1/25/04 - 1/19/07

What a shock! Our Sadie is gone. She was diagnosed with Auto-Immune Disease at the beginning of the month and went quickly. She was a wonderful dog. I can describe her as a loving, obedient, happy, giving, vocal, animated dog. She will be greatly missed and it has put a big hole in our hearts. We love you Sadie and always will. You are in a better place now and will be there to greet us when it's time.